Former Centinela Valley Union High School District superintendent Jose Fernandez sits next to his attorney Vicki Podberesky during his preliminary hearing in Los Angeles on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019. Fernandez was arrested in August 2017 on a dozen felony counts, including embezzlement by a public official, misappropriation of public funds, grand theft and conflict of interest. If convicted, Fernandez could be sentenced to up to 15 years in state prison. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)

Former Centinela Valley school Superintendent Jose Fernandez, accused of manipulating his pay and benefits one year to nearly $750,000, was ordered to stand trial Wednesday, April 12, on nine felony counts, including embezzlement and conflict of interest.

After a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court that spanned nearly three months, Judge Stephen A. Marcus noted that school board members in the tiny Lawndale-based district bore some responsibility because they didn’t ask “hard questions” before approving Fernandez’s employment contract and the benefit revisions that followed.

However, Marcus also said Fernandez was not completely acting in good faith when, among other things, he negotiated a supplemental retirement plan that benefited the district’s employees, but in which he stood to gain $294,000.

“At the end of the day, this is a sad situation for the Centinela school district and the people who live there,” Marcus said.

Fernandez’s 2013 earnings were first reported by the Daily Breeze in February 2014, showing the superintendent that year made $663,000 in pay and benefits, a number that was later increased to $750,000, for leading the low-income district with three high schools in Hawthorne and Lawndale.

After the revelations and public outcry, Fernandez was fired by the school board in July 2014.

His lavish pay and benefits, stemming from a 2009 contract approved by the school board, included a $910,000 home loan that he used to purchase a $1.6 million house in Ladera Heights and a $750,000 life insurance policy Fernandez took out before the school board could approve it.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office began investigating Fernandez after it received a copy of the Daily Breeze article. He was arrested in August 2017.

The preliminary hearing began in late January but was delayed multiple times because testimony took longer than anticipated. Marcus ruled Wednesday there was sufficient evidence to have Fernandez, 59, proceed to trial on one count of grand theft by embezzlement of public funds, two counts of misappropriation of public funds, two counts of grand theft and four counts of conflict of interest.

Marcus dismissed two counts of conflict of interest and one count of misappropriation of public funds. Two of those charges stemmed from the home loan Fernandez secured in 2012 from the Centinela Valley Union High School District, which at the time was making deep budget cuts. Because the loan had already been approved through Fernandez’s 2009 employment contract, Marcus ruled Fernandez did not need to go back to the board for additional approval.

“I can’t deny that he took advantage of the naivety and inexperience of the new school board members,” Marcus said. “He negotiated with the school board to get a very favorable contract.”

But the judge believed Fernandez did use deceptive tactics and took advantage of the board’s shortcomings, including keeping board members from accessing the district’s attorneys and forcing all communication to go through him.

He also allegedly buried more pay perks in four large binders sent to board members with proposed changes to district bylaws and revisions. At least one board member said she tried to plod through the material, but felt overwhelmed and gave up.

Fernandez’s attorney, Vicki Podberesky, said during and after Wednesday’s hearing that the case was more of a contract dispute than a criminal case.

“They got it right in that the board was ineffective and did not want to pay attention to details,” she said. “It’s difficult to blame my client and say he’s responsible for that.”

Prosecutors declined to comment immediately after the hearing.

Fernandez is free on $495,000 bond. He was ordered to return to court May 8 to enter a plea to the nine charges.

Nathan covers crime and public safety for the Daily Breeze. Prior to joining the coverage team in the South Bay, Nathan worked for the Orange County Register, where he covered south Orange County cities and community sports. A freelance play-by-play broadcaster, Nathan can be heard calling high school baseball and community college football games during the spring on his days off.